Potosí

Potosí, with San Fransisco Church and the Cerro Rico in the background
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

From Uyuni I continued on with the group from my excursion to Potosí. They recommended that I joined them at their hostel, a former convent, which turned out to be one of the nicest places I´ve stayed, in terms of helpful owners, location, amenities and price. Potosí is an attractive town, where the evidence of its former colonial wealth is found in the many beautiful churches and colonial buildings. It was so tranquil that I was happy to spend 4 days there.

The main attraction in Potosí is the Cerro Rico, the mountain where historically (colonial times) the silver mined there made both Bolivia and Spain quite rich, to the detriment of the slaves that mined it, many of which died due to the terrible conditions and poor safety. But times have changed, and silver is still mined there. The miners are by no means slaves, some even make quite a packet depending on their situation and whether the quality, or ´veins´, are good, but the conditions are impressively poor. I know because I entered the mines – I did a tour, fortunately with actual miners as guides. The first thing that affected me was the size of the tunnels, so very narrow and low that bent over double I couldn´t even get through, secondly the smell of sulphur, thirdly the densely dusty air and finally the intense heat once you get further in. Thankfully I don´t suffer from claustrophobia (my mum wouldn´t have been able to do the tour!) but still, the closeness and depth to which we entered, together with all of the other factors mentioned, made for a pretty uncomfortable stay inside the mines.

Another point regarding conditions: legally boys of 15 are allowed to be miners and there are supposedly some 200 minors working for the Cooperative (a law they´re looking to amend, which has its positives and negatives for the mining community. Some of these boys are the only breadwinners in their families). The minors we saw were generally pretty happy down there (apparently after their 12-24hr shifts some miners don´t even want to leave). We first met them outside having their 4-hourly break (which they time based on the moment in which the coca leaves they are ´chewing´ turn bitter. This, apparently, is an almost minute-perfect timer). They were happily drinking their pure alcohol and teasing me about my height – I suppose they already knew what was coming to me. While in the mine two of the guys sped past us in a mining cart, both hanging out of the cart and grinning from ear to ear, cheeks stuffed with leaves. Despite the stories of some big earner miners, I can only say that I would sooner clean toilets than do their job – my back and neck is still suffering from my short experience! We finished the tour by detonating some dynamite outside the mine. Click here to see the pictures, including that of me with the lit dynamite in my hands!

DISTANCE TRAVELED SINCE USHUAIA: 18,035KM